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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. staff — employees
  4. spell — letters
  5. land — to come down
  6. present — a gift
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. staff — a stick
  12. drill — the tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. land — a country
  15. spell — magic
  16. last — finally
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. staff — employees
  19. spell — a short time
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — rain
  22. land — ground
  23. last — to go on
  24. present — there

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com